The entire office complex is arranged in an axially symmetric layout with its north facing south.

    Beyond the main gate are the left and right tribute houses, with the left side featuring a bell tower and stage, while the right side is where the prison and god temple are located.

    Moving further in, we come to the Yimen, with a land god shrine on the left side.

    Entering the Yimen, we come to the area where the civil servants work, which is known as the "Black Room".

    As Chen Yun and Cai Rujin walked and listened to Yang Lie's introduction, they learned that next to the left black room there are places like the Elegant Pavilion, the Zhenhou Temple, the Strong Room, and so on, while on the right side there are places like the Quick Room.

    Actually, none of this can be considered entering the official residence, as it is only the outer area.

    Only when entering the main hall, which is the place for opening the court to judge cases, can it be said that one has truly entered the government.

    Further inside are the mansion gate, the second hall, the left and right meeting halls, and so on.

    After passing through the second hall, which leads to a garden, Chen Yun and Cai Rujin finally arrived at the inner residence.

    This is the place where the prefectural official and his family live, with larger halls such as the Hall of Deities and Flower Rooms located at the rear.

    Yang Lie placed Chen Yun and Cai Rujin in the eastern wing, and then had servants call out all of Chen Yun and Cai Rujin's relatives, such as their wives and children, to stay in a guesthouse, showing their full respect for them.

    Although it is not very good to let others live in guesthouses with their families, Chen Yun is now entangled by the thankless binding of Xie Wuming's artifact, requiring a quiet place. In addition, he has done so much for the Tang Army this time, so staying in a peaceful courtyard for two days is something he deserves. He naturally has no polite refusal.

    In the eastern chamber.

    After some servant girls brought tea and pastries, they closed the door and went outside to wait.

    Looking at the binding on Chen Yun's body, Cai Rujin said to his uncle, "Sit here and don't move. Let me carefully think about how to untie it."

    Chen Yun sat beside the small round table, gazing out at the daisies in the window box, "Yes, thank you, apprentice Cai."

    "No problem," Cai Rujin said with a slight excitement in his eyes, "I've never been able to untie something like this easily. I must figure it out clearly. This artifact is no ordinary thing!"

    They chatted for a while.

    Cai Rujin was fully focused on deciphering the artifact.

    Chen Yun, on the other hand, was recalling the duel with Xie Wuming just then.

    In fact, he had only used two moves throughout the entire battle. They were mainly the thunder law destroyed golden roc and the purple micro name bursting out a powerful power.

    But with just those two moves, he had defeated a cultivator as powerful as Liu Gui Bai.

    "It seems that I have become so strong unconsciously," he said.

    Chen Yun couldn't help but feel moved in his heart.

    Thinking back to the time when he had spent over ten days making three hundred Safe and Disaster-Free talismans to deal with Liu Gui Bai, and then ambushing him, causing his shadowy spirit to suffer a serious injury. Then, he had barely defeated Liu Gui Bai with the help of the Jinhong Zhaoyao Sword, which had a ghostly sword spirit comparable to a ghostly cultivator.

    To be honest, without the three hundred Safe and Disaster-Free talismans for ambush or the help of the sword spirit, he would not have been able to win at that time.

    However, now that his cultivation has broken through to the seventh level of a magician without the help of a sacred sword, he was able to win against Xie Wuming, who was probably even stronger than Liu Gui Bai and had prepared a magical altar for defense, yet he managed to win in two moves.

    It has to be said that he is indeed many times stronger than before.

    Chen Yun was confident that if he encountered Liu Gui Bai at this moment, he would be able to defeat him in one move.

    Yes, from the cultivation standpoint, he might be on par with Liu Gui Bai. However, the skills he knows and the true qi energy bursting out from his body are far superior to those of someone who cultivates a ghostly spirit.

    So it turns out...I have become very strong!

    A sense of full accomplishment slowly rose within Chen Yun's heart.

    This time he came out for three purposes: first, to ensure Li Si's safe return home; second, to fulfill the favors owed to Zhang Chenfan and Wang Shihui; and finally, to test his strength.

    Now that Xie Wuming has been defeated and his strength validated, it far exceeds the realm of his peers.

    Currently, only the first goal remains unachieved.

    This depends on whether the Chenzhou local army can cooperate with the Divine Strategy Army to wipe out the Huangchao army.

    However, no matter what, Chen Yun was very satisfied with his battle against Xie Wuming today.

    "The Purple Micro Forbidden Art, when performed in my hands, seems to be stronger than when Lin Feiyun used it."

    While watching Cai Rujin thinking hard to figure out how to break the rope device, Chen Yun secretly pondered, "Perhaps, this is the advantage of internal energy cultivation. True qi is a pure yang power, regardless of whether it's used for magic spells or curses, its power far exceeds that of a ghostly spirit."

    This makes him more determined to integrate it with other methods as the core of inner alchemy.

    Now that his strength has been confirmed, Chen Yun knows that upon his return, he needs to put all his efforts into sprinting towards the mid-level of seventh grade.

    Magic spells and curses are all means, only when one's cultivation is high enough, this is eternal strength.

    ......

    On the other side, on the battlefield......

    Because the soldiers guarding the gate were scared by Chen Yun's courage, they caused a domino effect of defeat. Zhang Chenfan led seven hundred cavalrymen, almost without effort, instantly scattered the enemy's ranks.

    The cavalry moved like the wind, and their impact was extremely fierce. Once the enemy lost their formation, Zhang Chenfan's cavalry, like a ferocious tiger descending a mountain, roamed through the chaotic army without any hindrance, attacking wherever they went.

    In less than half an hour, the Huangchao army was completely routed and terrified by the wind.

    The general of the bandits, Meng Qia, was in a panic. Under the protection of his bodyguards, he fled southwards all the way.

    At this moment, tens of thousands of foot soldiers from Chenzhou mobilized and set out to annihilate the remaining soldiers and defeated enemies.

    While Zhang Chenfan and his 700 horsemen fought with a bloodthirsty determination, they almost captured Meng Kaifan, routing the bandits' left, middle, and central forces.

    Meng Qia left his helmet and horse, hiding in the mountains, which enabled him to temporarily escape.

    After this battle, Zhang Chengfan's reputation shook the four directions of Chenzhou, reminiscent of Zhang Liao's eight hundred cavalrymen who defeated Sun Quan's one million troops. His fame in the military soared to its peak in an instant.

    However, all of Zhang Chenfan, the 700 horsemen, and the subsequent reinforcements from Chenzhou's generals like Wang Shijie, Zhao Ke, and others, clearly understood that it was actually that powerful and knowledgeable Chen Tiansheng who had helped make Zhang Chenfan's reputation shake the entire Chenzhou.

    Perhaps it was seeing the bandits' collapse that Zhaobjiu didn't want to let Meng Qia go. With thousands of troops, he surrounded the mountain, finally capturing Meng Qia at night.

    In the mountains.

    Despairingly, Meng Qia looked around at the encircling Tang army, which had formed a semicircle. He knew that he had no way out today.

    Riding his battle horse and looking down at Meng Qia, Zhaobjiu laughed aloud, "Meng Qia, you have been terrorizing Chenzhou. But today, you fell to my hands again, hahahahaha!"

    Meng Qia stubbornly glared back, "Zhaobjiu, my defeat is not because of your army's advantage, but rather because of the magic skills of that immortal in your ranks. Otherwise, I would have surely broken through to Chenzhou!"

    Zhaobjiu was quite pleased, saying, "It is only because of the high-level magic skills of the immortal Chen Xian in our army that we have won a decisive victory over your bandit army. However, we have managed to obtain such a high-level expert as him, while you cannot. This simply means that fate is on our side in the Tang Dynasty, and not with your Huang Chao chaos!"

    Upon hearing this, Meng Qia's haughty head, which had been raised high, finally slowly lowered. His face now showed despair. Yes, the Tang army had managed to get hold of Chen Xianlong, but he could only get hold of the worthless Xie Wuming. That was the key factor that determined the outcome of this battle.

    Meng Qia knew that once captured, he would undoubtedly be killed.

    It just doesn't make sense that he doesn't know who was in control of his defeat. This makes him feel extremely uncomfortable inside.

    With this in mind, Meng Qia threw away his lance and raised his head, declaring loudly, "May I ask what kind of deity the immortal Chen Xianlong is? I want to die knowing why."

    Zhaobjiu replied, "The immortal Chen Xianlong is a high disciple of the Chongnan Mountain Ningyang Cave's Zhengyang Immortal. His surname is Chen, and his given name is 'Cloud'!"

    Chen Yun?

    Disciple of the Zhengyang Immortal?

    That's why, that's why we lost.

    It was only then that Meng Qia realized that Chen Yun was a high disciple of the Shengsheng sect. In an instant, he surrendered, convinced of his defeat.

    ......

    The night grew deep.

    Chen Yun was yawning, "Zhai Shouncle, are you really able to do it? If not, we'll go back to the temple tomorrow."

    "It's almost done, almost done, Uncle, please don't worry."

    While Cai Rujin said this with his mouth, in reality, he was anxious beyond measure.

    After all, for a high-level magical cultivator to be unable to break a rope-type magic item for such a long time is something that would be extremely embarrassing if it were to be spread out.

    Chen Yun had no choice but to endure and wait for the other party to continue attempting to crack the riddle.

    To be honest, at this moment, he was a little regretful that he hadn't chosen the "swordsmanship" school of magic. Otherwise, with a simple ritual, he could have easily broken the rope-type magic item.

    However, if he had learned swordsmanship in the first place, he might not have been able to defeat the Golden Armored Witch.

    Thunder law is effective against the Golden Armored Witch, allowing Chen Yun to subdue it in one move. If he had used a different magic item, it might have taken half a day to defeat it.

    While thinking this, Chen Yun suddenly felt a release around him, as if the rope had been untied.

    At the same time, Cai Rujin laughed loudly, "Untied! Finally, Master has untied this damned rope!"

    Chen Yun bent down to pick up the rope, which looked like hemp twine on the ground, and kept staring at it.

    While Cai Rujin was still boasting non-stop, "Brother Chen, you may not think that this magic item is particularly amazing. However, even a common high-level magical cultivator who encounters it might not be able to easily untie it. But, unfortunately, it just happened to be me. Look, I managed to untie it in just a few minutes."

    "Just a few minutes?" Chen Yun looked up at him and said softly, "It's already been half a day."

    Cai Rujin seemed rather embarrassed and coughed, "Well, this magic item is truly remarkable. It's not that I'm incompetent. If I'm not mistaken, this item is probably the 'Bind Dragon Rope' personally refined by the Yin Mountain Ancestor. According to legend, the Bind Dragon Rope can even bind a dragon, and it's a very impressive magic item."

    Chen Yun looked at the rope in his hand, which was only a few inches long, and wondered, "How can this rope bind a dragon?"

    "This rope can be as long or as short as needed, making it a powerful binding-type magic item. When bound to our bodies, it may only be a few inches long, but when bound to a dragon's body, it can be hundreds of feet long," Cai Rujin explained its usage. "Of course, it cannot completely bind the dragon, and according to what I saw while trying to break it earlier, it can only hold the dragon for a moment before being exploded by its tremendous power. However, those few moments in combat are extremely dangerous. Moreover, didn't you see? Even me, a high-level magical cultivator mastered in refining magic items and at your level of cultivation, took half a day to untie it. If you come across someone with equal strength or stronger than you using this artifact to bind them, won't you easily secure victory?"

    Chen Yun thought carefully and found it reasonable. The item was indeed very strong, an "almost divine weapon" that could match or even slightly surpass the level of the opponent.

    At this moment, Cai Rujin suddenly showed an eagerly longing expression, "Uncle Chen, why don't you... give this magic item to your junior? I'm willing to exchange it with an item of equal value."

    If Chen Yun didn't know the magic of this rope-type artifact, he might be willing to exchange it. However, now that he knows how powerful this artifact is, he wouldn't be willing to exchange it at all.

    "Zhai Shouncle, this magic item was the spoils of war that I fought hard to obtain. Don't even think about it." Chen Yun instantly put the rope into his storage ring.

    Cai Rujin was too fond of the magic item. "Oh no, Uncle Chen, don't be like this. I have many fine magic items here that you can choose from. Just let it go to me."

    "No exchange."

    "Good Uncle Chen, I know you are the best. Look at my magic items."

    "Don't waste your effort. This is the hard-won spoils of war, and it's not something that can be exchanged with you."

    "My Qingmíngbìyōu Sword is a rite forged from a hundred-year-old Leijī Táomù, which can command wind and rain and harness lightning!"

    "I have the Red Gold Demon-Slaying Sword."

    "My Thunder Fire Bottle is an artifact that has been consecrated..."

    "The Five Thunder Command..."

    "The Green Wave Seal..."

    Cai Rujin quickly took out over ten magic items, each of which possessed formidable power.

    Chen Yun nearly widened his eyes in surprise, really not expecting Cai Rujin to have so many magic items.

    However, he was not a fool and knew that the rope for which Cai Rujin was willing to exchange so many magic items must be of extraordinary importance. Therefore, he held firm to his principles and refused the exchange.

    As Cai Rujin continued endlessly, and Chen Yun had no excuse to send the other party away, he was extremely troubled.

    Suddenly, the sound of knocking on the door was heard.

    Bang, bang-bang.

    Following the knocking, there was a slightly ingratiating voice from outside, "Immortal Chen, we have brought back the body of the demon cultivator as you instructed. Additionally, the golden-armored warrior that was thunder-struck by you seems to be acting strangely. Could you please come out and take a look?"

    Yes, Xie Wuming's corpse has been brought back.

    I might be able to gain some good stuff by touching the corpse?

    Chen Yun's eyes lit up and he quickly replied to the outside, "Alright, I'll be right out."

    There was a hint of hope in his heart. He didn't know what good things he might be able to obtain from Xie Wuming's corpse this time.

    But if even the rope had made Cai Rujin so envious, there must be some good magic items on Xie Wuming's body as well.

    Chen Yun hurried to get up and walk outside, while dodging Cai Rujin and musing on what else he might be able to gain today.

    (This chapter is completed)